2.14.2007

This video is almost 10 minutes long, but definitely worth a watch. if you're a christian, don't get yourself all riled up. the perspective is good to be aware of in terms of how our ideas and beliefs are perceived by some. but is he telling the whole story? watch the video and then read the info below and make your own conclusion.

Below are a few more delusions that came to mind.

Let’s take a look at the football delusion. Football fans believe that it makes a difference in this world whether or not one group of people can move a ball across a line. They believe in the importance of this so strongly that they will pay thousands of dollars for season tickets to their favorite team. They will completely rearrange their schedules to ensure that they don’t miss a second of the action.They will wear clothing announcing to the world that they are very concerned with a specific group of people moving a ball across a line.Some of these football fans are willing to marginalize their families instead of missing any part of this action.They’ll wager money they don’t have on the fact that the group of people they like will move the ball across the line more times than the group they’re playing against.

This is a delusion.It doesn’t make any difference whether the ball moves across the line or not.Everyone outside the bubble can clearly see that this is a delusion.And yet, billions of dollars are spent to ensure that the best of the best are working their hardest to move a ball across a line.

Let’s take a look at the atheist delusion.Atheists claim to believe that if it can’t be proven, it can’t be trusted.Atheists claim to be the only group that thinks as well as the only group who is willing to submit to rational thought.So how do you know someone is your friend?can you prove it?How can you love somebody?How can you trust somebody?You can’t because you can’t prove that they’re trustworthy.Just because they didn’t screw you today doesn’t mean they won’t screw you tomorrow.You trust in rational thought, but apparently this is only recently trustworthy.Up until about 500 years ago (which is a drop in the bucket of human history and human thought) rational thought told us that the earth was flat.Rational thought has delivered us several gems including leeches for medical purposes.This rational thought, while wonderful and powerful, must be recognized as the shifting sand that it is.In the same way that soy has gone from the darling of the health food industry to a food that may cause significant hormonal changes if used in excess, rational thought will deliver “truths” 20 years from now that will make today’s beliefs look as foolish as the flying spaghetti monster that atheists are so proud to not believe in.the assumption that everything that needs to be known can be known by me, here and now, if I will simply think, is a delusion.The idea that we humans, as brilliant as we may be, can even scratch the surface on the mysteries of a universe whose simple size we cannot even comprehend, is a delusion.Atheists belief they can prove everything that is true and that anything that’s unproven is false is a delusion.They live in an atheist bubble.Everyone outside the bubble can see that it’s a delusion, but atheists claim it’s the only true and healthy way to live.Atheism is a delusion.

Everyone is delusional.Everyone holds at least one “fixed false belief that is resistant to reason or confrontation with actual fact.”The claim that I am not delusional is tantamount to claiming objectivity, which, to any rational person, is completely laughable.There are experiences, relationships, comments, image and countless other forces that have shaped each individual in ways that will never be calculated, measured or quantified, which makes each individual unique in their perspectives and biases.Thanks for the thought-provoking video.Please don’t insult me and the rest of us rational thinkers by claiming that you have no bias and are completely objective in your ideas.You’re not.I’m not.Fred’s not.Amy’s not.I don’t even know Fred and Amy but I can guarantee that they are not objective because they see the world through their eyes just as I see the world through my eyes and you see the world through yours.You’re more than welcome to consider me delusional.I am.But my experience – the people I’ve seen with my eyes and touched with my hands; the words I’ve heard; the pain I’ve felt in my heart and the redemption I’ve experienced in my soul (which may or may not be empirical) – is a sufficient foundation for my perception reality, just as your experiences in all the same ways are apparently a sufficient foundation for your perception of reality.Is there an objective reality?I think so, but I can’t prove it.And I doubt you can either.

2 comments:

nice post. the video was insightful and made me "think" for the first time ever. just kidding. I do like your points though. We all have some kind of delusion. Something in me still thinks I may develop super-powers someday like the Matrix or Heroes. But c'mon, how cool would that be!

Seriously though, there are many Christians that would respond to that video, "well, that's what faith is for" and not be able to back anything up or reason with someone like that. There are not enough people out there picking up books and getting knowledge. I think that is the word we need to spread. "don't rely on your pastor to do all of the studying!"

good call. it's so much easier to claim the righteousness of blind faith and forget about the critical thinking aspect of our faith. if i believe it's true, then what question could possibly crumble it? if i'm afraid to crumble it, then do i really believe it's true?